Partnership of archive & local history organisations at Manchester Central Library. Supported by the Heritage Lottery Fund. Blogs by volunteers and staff. Visit archivesplus.org for events, visitor information and more.

Archives+ 2014 in Review

2014 was a huge year for the Archives+ team. Central Library reopened to the public after its refurbishment and our Archives+ exhibition was launched. Here are a few of the highlights from our year.

January

We kicked of the year with a visit to Wythenshawe Hall where we made memory boxes in very grand surroundings.

February

We worked with the young people at Ladybarn Community Association to put together an afternoon tea. They researched the history of their area and spent the afternoon chatting to older people about life in the past.

March

Central Library reopened after being closed for around 4 years for renovation. Archives+ took part in the opening celebrations and also had several events as part of Manchester Histories Festival including behind the scenes tours, film screenings, talks, living history characters and archive handling session.April

Our inaugural photography competition took place in 2014 with short-listing in April. Max Bamber was the eventual winner with this shot of the St George’s Day Parade.May

The wonderful Junkshop ran a Make Do and Mend session where attendees made canvas bags using recycled material and inspired by copies of Vogue from our heritage stack.

In August we took part in the Summer Reading Challenge, sticking to the theme (Mythical Mazes) by imagining what the boggarts in Boggart Hole Clough might look like.

September

September saw the launch of our community exhibition – Wilfred Owen’s War. This was a Heritage Lottery Young Roots project in partnership with the Wowzone in Wythenshawe. The exhibition was launched with readings from the young people and was attended by the Lord Mayor of Manchester. Visit the project website for more information.

October

In October we had Zombies in the archives and took part in Manchester Science Festival for the first time.

November

To commemorate 100 years since the beginning of the First World War all the Archives+ partners took part in a week of commemorative events. These included WWI themed music, talks, film shows and archive handling sessions. One of the highlights was Corporal Tommy Atkins who explains the life of the WWI Tommy using the original uniform and equipment of a Manchester Regiment soldier.

December

Our Christmas Extravaganza was a huge success in 2014. We had performances from local choirs and music groups, free craft activities, mince pies to give away,festive archives on display and even a visit from the man himself – Father Christmas.

So that was 2014 for Archives+ in a nutshell. Of course, it goes without saying that we did much more than this post could possibly cover. School visits, free local history talks, film screenings and weekly archive handling sessions, not to mention a variety of events for families and young people in Central Library and a variety of events elsewhere in the City.